Radiant Historia Perfect Chronology Review: Time After Time After Time

Of the many story-driven games that feature user-dictated time travel, Venturing out of the capital of Alistel to accomplish your missions will bring you face-to-face with all manner of hostile creatures and soldiers from Grenorg. These battles–triggered by making contact with enemies visible in the field–unfold in classic turn-based fashion. Facing off against foes who are laid out in a three-by-three grid presents its share of strategies. One of the most useful battle skills allows you to knock your target into another enemy-occupied space, either one space back or to the sides. With the right planning, a follow-up attack can deal shared damage to those crowded square in a single blow. There’s further combat depth since you’re also offered the option of swapping turns with other teammates. These opportunities deliver a puzzle-like sense of strategy, which make victories feel rewarding.It’s a battle system that feels both traditional and brain-teasingly fresh and it would’ve been superb if not for its quality-of-life shortcomings. For instance, if your threesome targets a single enemy and it’s vanquished before all your team’s turns are used up, remaining attacks will not defer to the other opponents. This results in wasted turns, which is all the more frustrating when party members in your reserves swoop in randomly to offer a one-off support action. This well-intentioned perk is appreciated when a teammate heals or buffs, but not when he’s attacking a monster the active party is already cued up to attack. And if you hope to avoid excess grinding, think again; the advanced difficulty of the combat discourages trying out new characters as active teammates in battle, given their relatively low starting levels.The improvements in Perfect Chronology over the original DS version range from minor to significant. The changes in 2D art character designs isn’t an upgrade so much as it feels like Atlus trading the works of one talented artist for another. More clear cut production enhancements like new voiceovers, a retooled soundtrack, and a new anime-styled opening music video adds freshness to this game, but Perfect Chronology’s more substantial upgrades are found in its new modes. A bonus dungeon called the Vault of Time provides opportunities to fight more monsters for a chance at exclusive items like support skills, which often prove useful in the main story. The difficulty of the vault increases with each subsequent floor and the stakes are heightened by the inability to use items. The boldest new feature by far is the addition of a third stream of time. Given the tight woven relationship of the two other timelines, this third path–dubbed ‘Sub-History’–unsurprisingly doesn’t affect the original game’s story or outcomes. Rather, it presents a host of what-if adventure scenarios where Stocke interacts with familiar friends and enemies, some whom behave out of character. It offers a look into the world and inhabitants of Vainqueur that manages to be insightful even if it’s non-canonical.With all the time juggling, the brain-teasing mechanic of the White Chronicle doesn’t overshadow Radiant Historia Perfect Chronology’s story. Its politically charged tale complements Stocke’s personal journey as he follows his orders and makes sense of his powers. The White Chronicles’ close connection to the plot only makes temporal manipulation all the more engrossing, regardless if you’re working your way to the game’s best conclusion or hitting every node in the timeline. This feature maintains its grip for much of the game’s 60-hour journey in spite of its combat shortcomings. Had this been a straight port of the DS version, it would still warrant the attention of RPG enthusiasts who missed Radiant Historia the first time around. With its upgrades and considerable bonuses–particularly the Sub-History–even those who think they got their fill by beating the original game should check out this definitive edition.